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Shift the axis of dispute: Difference between revisions
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Remember the array of ''agendas'' here. There are many competing interests — as many as there are players in this drama; more in fact, since any [[Agency problem|agent]] has his ''own'' interest and ''{{sex|his}} [[principal]]’s'' to juggle — and the interests that ''ought'' to prevail: those of the notional “buyer” and “seller” (should we call them “hosts”?) are in practice ''the most weakly held''. | Remember the array of ''agendas'' here. There are many competing interests — as many as there are players in this drama; more in fact, since any [[Agency problem|agent]] has his ''own'' interest and ''{{sex|his}} [[principal]]’s'' to juggle — and the interests that ''ought'' to prevail: those of the notional “buyer” and “seller” (should we call them “hosts”?) are in practice ''the most weakly held''. | ||
Why should this be? Think in system terms. The battlefield is populated not by loyal soldiers with an unwavering unitary commitment to the defence of the realm, but hastily-roused rabble of rowdy, but confused, mercenaries, not really sure what’s going on, whose side they’re on, where they are meant to be standing or how they even came to be in the middle of this fight in the first place — but grateful for the livelihood it affords them, all the same. But their overriding priority — even above vanquishing the Queen’s enemies — is to ''preserve'' that livelihood. | Why should this be? Think in system terms. The battlefield is populated not by loyal soldiers with an unwavering unitary commitment to the defence of the realm, but hastily-roused rabble of rowdy, but confused, mercenaries, not really sure what’s going on, whose side they’re on, where they are meant to be standing or how they even came to be in the middle of this fight in the first place — but grateful for the livelihood it affords them, all the same. But their overriding priority — even above vanquishing the Queen’s enemies — is [[Buttocratic oath|to ''preserve'' that livelihood]]. | ||
Each of these [[agent]]s — the [[Negotiator|negotiators]], [[salespeople]], [[Law firm|professional adviser]]s, [[credit committee]]s — is motivated firstly ''to make whatever it is that they are doing look necessary''. This will vouchsafe, as far as possible, that livelihood. What they do doesn’t have to ''be'' necessary; just to ''seem'' that way to whomever should be paying their bill. That bill should be as large as it can be without seeming out of proportion to the value of the negotiation. | Each of these [[agent]]s — the [[Negotiator|negotiators]], [[salespeople]], [[Law firm|professional adviser]]s, [[credit committee]]s — is motivated firstly ''to make whatever it is that they are doing look necessary''. This will vouchsafe, as far as possible, that livelihood. What they do doesn’t have to ''be'' necessary; just to ''seem'' that way to whomever should be paying their bill. That bill should be as large as it can be without seeming out of proportion to the value of the negotiation. | ||